Nov 29, 2012

When I want a hearty bowl of split pea soup in a hurry, my pressure cooker is my best friend! Split pea soup is loaded with fiber, and it's a comforting meal on a chilly night. I usually serve this with a slice of crusty bread, toasted and rubbed with a little garlic.

This soup is also my favorite way to use up leftover ham or a ham bone. It's super easy, but not always super quick... unless you use a pressure cooker!

Using a pressure cooker cuts the cooking time by less than half and everything always tastes better for some reason. I've been using my pressure cooker for years; in South America it is widely popular to make soups, beans, and stews because it's quick and saves on gas. I own a fancy electric one, but for some reason I still rather use my old stove top Presto.

When making soups and stews in the pressure cooker, very little liquid evaporates, so I usually cut the liquid down a bit. I found a great Pressure Cooker Cheat Sheet on Pressure Cooker For Dummies, if you own one and are scared of it, you might find this interesting.

I used Better than Bouillon, I love the flavor it adds to soups, but you can use chicken broth in it's place if you prefer.

A few notes: Today is my 3rd day doing the Holiday Runner's Streak (run at least 1 mile everyday until the Holidays, see 2012 Holiday Running Streak from Runner's World). It was really hard to get out of bed this morning, but I am happy I got it out of the way. How are you doing, still with me?

By the way, this soup freezes well, leftovers are perfect for lunch or make a batch for once a month cooking.

In a pressure cooker, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes. Add ham, peas, water, chicken bouillon and bay leaf and bring to a boil. When the liquid boils, cover and lock the lid and continue cooking until the pot reaches pressure, then reduce heat to low and set a timer for 20 minutes.

After the 20 minutes, shut the stove off and let the pressure cooker release the steam on it's own. When the lid unlocks, adjust liquid if needed, taste for salt and pepper and remove bay leaf. If the soup looks like it should cook a little longer, you can let it simmer covered (unlocked) until it has reached your desired thickness.

To make without a pressure cooker, add 2 more cups water and simmer covered on low for 2 hours.*Check labels for Gluten Free

As a vegetarian/vegan, I would not use ham and would use vegetable stock. I would add a pinch of smoked paprika or if you like things spicy, you can add some chipotle chili powder. Either will add a smoky flavor.

you could also add some dried mint for a tasty pea and mint soup- make sure you balance flavor with salt [yes needed] and or some fat of some form so sprinkling of cheese, addition of cream or even butter will often lift and add dimension to a dried pulse soup.

I have been teaching people how to pressure cook for more than 16 years and have a pressure cooking cookbook: The New Fast Food.

I would use the high pressure setting. When the first wisp of steam comes out and the button is up (assuming that you have a non jiggle top cooker) and stays up, it is at high pressure. You then turn down the heat to medium or low, depending upon your stove to keep the pressure up. Make sure that the button stays up.

After 20 minutes (which is much longer than I would cook it as I would not do it for more than 10 minutes), take off the stove and wait until the button drops. Carefully open the lid as the soup will be very hot. Enjoy.

I make mine with a ham bone, I just put it all in there together (I use a slow cooker though), and take it out when it's done cooking and cut off the usable ham and dice it up small and stir it back into the soup. But I weigh it before stirring it in so I know how many Points+ it will add to my recipe.

I do! I just throw all the ingredients in together in the slow cooker, and cook on low all day (6-8 hours). I do the ham in large chunks or on the bone so I can easily take it out and then puree the vegetable mixture. Then cut up the ham and stir it back in.

Neat! I've never even seen a pressure cooker in person, but they sound scary haha. Nice to know how handy they actually are!

Split pea soup is a major comfort food dish for me- I have been having a lot of stomach problems lately, and it was the first real food I ate on Tuesday night after a couple of days of water and saltines. So so good.

Gina,I so was thinking of you, I started a holiday streak of my own. A bit different, I am donating something from my closet every day till Christmas. It is a bit {cough} overflowing {cough} right now, and I think I might be getting even more for Christmas so rather then tackle a massive purge I just pluck one thing out a day and put it in our give-a-way basket. So far I am 3 days in! Good luck with the running.

I always love your recipes and was so excited to see one using a pressure cooker! I love using my cooker, but only have a few recipes that I use for it. I would love to know other things you cook with yours!

I'm Cuban and we love our pressure cookers :) I even brought mine with me to Canada (an old stove top jiggle type, yes the ones that explode on occassion) but this weekend I'm getting a Kuhn Rikon aka the mercedes benz of pressure cookers. My husband and I are finally splurging on one.

OMG, I have the exact same pressure cooker, at least it looks like it from your pictures. I love it although it must be 40 years old. I'm not sure where to get a new rubber ring for the lid...any suggestions? This old Presto makes absolutely amazing stew in just minutes.

So I am leary about using my pressure cooker for more than just canning. I've been canning in it for years, but have yet to actually cook in it! Is it ok to actually use it for cooking & canning? :) Also, do you need to spray it with cooking spray or oil before cooking it it? It definitely does not look like it would be non-stick.

Made this tonight. Easy, fast, delicious. I was going to add thyme but just added some poultry seasoning and black pepper. Added some chicken base paste stuff but not too much. Used 1/2 of a Jenny O smoked turkey kielbasa. It was well received by my whole family! Thank you!

Made this tonight. Followed the directions exactly, but when the soup was done, the bottom was a burnt gooey mess. I don't know what I did wrong! I was able to salvage most of the soup and it was delicious, but has anyone else had this problem? I think next time I'll take The Veggie Queen's advice and cook for 10 minutes instead of 20.

I know this is on old thread, but I had the same issue. I have tried twice to make this recipe, but both time the bottom was burnt and the soup was ruined. I think it has to do with the pressure cooker having a thin bottom, and does not spread the heat out very well. I might consider getting a new pressure cooker, maybe one of the new electric ones.

Sometimes if your pressure cooker doesn't properly seal and you don't have enough liquid, the bottom part will burn... especially if you are still on high heat. I will sometimes re-seal my pressure cooker if I see that the pressure button is not popping up.

I made this tonight and used a slow cooker. It turned out great! The one thing I would do is to use the ham flavor that the peas came with and then add the ham after I pureed the vegetables. A great stick to your ribs kind of meal!

Hi Gina,This is my first attempt at pressure cooking and I'm a bit confused. The liquid is brought to a boil and then covered. What difference would it make if I simply covered without bringing it to a boil first? I really appreciate your feedback because it took me 5 years to even break this thing out of the box!

One thing I'd like to know; we're using dried green split peas right? So, do they need soaking? I've done this recipe before, and I pre-soaked the peas overnight, and they just wouldn't cook down! They stayed really firm, even after nearly 35mins at high pressure. I wonder if it's the fact that I'm pre-soaking them? I can't see why that would be, but what do you think?

I've made this three times already, and love it! Just wanted to say that, for the stovetop, I use 6 cups (not 8) of water for the stove top. I tried 8 the first time and it took about 3 hours to cook. 6 cups and it's done in two =D

I am delighted with this recipe--I love that I can leave work at 5, get home at 5:30, and have pea soup on the table before 7 (there's some dinking around on the internet, tickling the dog, etc. that goes on between arrival and "dinner is served" as well). It's delicious and easy. I bought some smoked ham hocks and dumped one in there in place of the ham--just pulled it off the bone after if was cooked, chopped it up a bit, and dumped it back in. Yum.

I made this last night and it was delicious. I used an electric pressure cooker. Cooked veggies on brown for about five minutes then added everything else. Set it on 150 for 20 minutes. My husband complimented the recipe. I will definitely make this again, so simple and yummy!

I use smoked sausage, chicken broth, red pepper flakes and/or hot sauce as well. Split pea soup has been one of my favorite soups since I was a child. Love love love! I have to have the little bit of kick (heat).